When CaroMont Health first sought state permission to build a new emergency center in Mount Holly, it cited the immediate need for emergency medical care in that corner of the county.

That was in 2009.

A court challenge from a rival health care provider postponed the project for some time. But that legal roadblock was cleared more than a year ago. And still there’s been no sign of progress where the Mount Holly MedPlex is slated to be built, near the intersection of N.C. 27 and N.C. 273 downtown.

CaroMont officials say the delay stems from their need to acquire more land at the site. They expect that process to be completed soon, however, allowing construction to begin as soon as this summer.

“We’re trying to create something that’s a lot more sustainable in the long term,” said Doug Luckett, CaroMont’s chief operating officer and executive vice president of operations integration. “Our timeline right now, if everything falls into place, has us starting to move dirt around June.”

The MedPlex has been drawn up as a 46,000-square-foot satellite hospital with 12 treatment rooms, a trauma room and a resuscitation room. It will offer diagnostics, CT scans, ultrasounds and laboratory work, catering to as many as 20,000 people in the surrounding area. A substation for Gaston Emergency Medical Services will also be included.

CaroMont Health and its flagship, Gaston Memorial Hospital in Gastonia, filed a certificate of need with the state four years ago to build the emergency department. The CON is required to build new treatment offices and equipment. That theoretically restricts the cost of health care for consumers, by limiting unwarranted growth of medical facilities.

Charlotte-based Carolinas HealthCare System also filed a CON to build a Mount Holly emergency center. And when CaroMont won the permit in October 2009, Carolinas HealthCare appealed.

A court battle ensued that lasted more than two years, as judges continually rejected CHC’s arguments. It finally ended in January 2012, when CHC announced it would no longer appeal the state’s decision. The health care provider had to forfeit the $50,000 it paid for the CON application.

More property to buy

CaroMont Health acquired almost six acres on the north side of N.C. 27, across from the Mount Holly Citizens Center, to build the MedPlex. The land is adjacent to a creek that empties into the nearby Catawba River.

Almost half of the property is in the 100-year floodplain. The initial plan was to fill in some of the site with dirt, to bring it two feet above the floodplain and up to street level. But that would have gone against Mount Holly’s downtown design plan by causing the hospital to be built too close to the highway. It also would have caused an issue with parking spaces, said Richard Blackburn, CaroMont’s vice president of support services.

So CaroMont has been trying to buy more contiguous land.

“It’s somewhere between 1.25 and 1.5 acres that we’ve been looking to purchase,” Blackburn said.

CaroMont is still talking with three property owners about purchasing four nearby parcels along nearby Wilson and Alexander streets, Luckett said.

Luckett said the delays have been regrettable, but the goal is to build something that’s functional and aesthetically fitting.

“This is just a better solution,” he said. “We don’t want to drag our feet. But we want to make sure we’re not putting up a quick shack with ER signs on it.”

Because of the reworked site plan, new architectural work is being done on the building design. But the money to build the MedPlex has already been put aside, Luckett said.

If work begins this summer, the MedPlex could open by spring of 2015, he said.

You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or twitter.com/GazetteMike.

Mount Holly MedPlex timeline

2009: CaroMontHealth and Carolinas HealthCare System both file requests to open a free-standing emergency department in MountHolly.

October 2009: CaroMont is granted the certification, prompting Carolinas HealthCare to appeal.

July 2010: A judge recommends the N.C. Division of Health Service Regulation reconsider its decision to give CaroMont the thumbs up, calling the process flawed.

November 2010: The state department decides instead to ignore the suggestion and upholds its original decision.